Formal Separates: part 1
by ShadowLurker13
Summary: This is the first of two completely unrelated takes on the infamous ballroom scene. I thought it would be interesting switching things around a bit and this was the result. Oh, the things we think of while bored at work.


Formal Separates

ShadowLurker13

PG-13

Summary: This is the first of two shorts, both completely different takes on the Ballroom Scene.

(I don't own any of this stuff, neither am I making money off of it in any way, shape, or form. Although, that would be cool if I could...)

Formal Separates

Part 1

The game was as old as it was ripe with corruption. Gluttony, drunkenness and extreme promiscuity held the day in the two, glittering chambers that held them all prisoner. Dressed up like dolls, fed and watered and primped, they were the Goblin King's prize collection: every last man and woman who had ever dared challenge him at his own game and had tried to run the Labyrinth. They were all here. He had captured them and erased the memories of their former lives and now they were on display like exotic birds in a glided cage. In spite of the pretense, he took care that they lacked for nothing, rather like cherished pets. They dripped in silks and satins and jewels. Every meal was a feast in miniature. They were waited on hand and foot by servants he had created for this purpose alone. And since all they knew of life was mindless pleasure there was not a single moral fiber left in the entire group. And they never aged. All of their world was comprised of two separate rooms, the Ballroom and a smaller adjacent sleeping chamber where they all piled together night after night, century after century. They were completely unaware of the world screaming by just outside the thin iridescent walls, unaware that they had all been given up for dead and everyone they had known was dead and buried ever so long ago. They belonged to him, body and mind, heart and soul, and they fawned on him as their great and mighty benefactor, their reason for existence.

The current number stood at 32 and had for quite some time. As the outside world stopped believing in him, Jareth's services to the mortal population had almost ceased entirely. There hadn't been a single, solitary wisher in almost a century. But tonight, out of the blue, there was one, and she was so willful and impudent that she was here. On a whim he had dressed her in white and silver because the coloring was a striking contrast to her long, dark brown hair. Actually, there was a reason he had chosen this but he was vaguely trying to ignore it: she was only fifteen and still a virgin. She was completely innocent and, consequentially, was totally unprepared for what was about to happen to her. Not even a clue.

She looked lost amidst the crowd and a bit confused. It was always thus at first as the spell took hold. But for some strange reason the others were paying her and unusual amount of attention. Perhaps it was only that it had been so long since they'd had a newcomer to the party. He had been baiting her, offering tantalizing glimpses of himself before disappearing again in the sea of dancers, that inhuman throng. Their masks made her uneasy but they wouldn't for long. All of them had been handed out by the king himself upon becoming enchanted so they wouldn't recognize themselves in the mirror-laden walls. It was time to close in for the kill.

He began drawing her to himself like a magnet, his voice swirling around the room like an intoxicating current, flowing about her, through her, caressing her ears with an irresistible fae luring song. At last he allowed himself to be caught - between two other women who had felt the old pull as well and had drawn close to their beautiful master, longing for his attention, knowing that they wouldn't get it – yet. Not while the game was afoot. They reluctantly turned away and Sarah was swept up in his arms, twirling about the room with the rest of them.

The spell had fully taken effect by now - he tested it and was satisfied to find that she would follow his lead no matter what, even in a quick dash across part of the room. She had found him at last only to lose herself in his strange dual-colored eyes, in the heat of his touch. She could feel it through his gloves, clear through the layers of fabric in her dress. She felt as if she were dreaming; surely nothing real could ever feel as delicious as this. He began circling her in a sort of promenading move, closing the space between them. A knowing smile had crept into his face but it held a sort of distant tenderness. Yes, she was ready. If only she wasn't so young, so inexperienced. Ah well, it was part of her charm, he mused. From the way she was acting she was completely untouched. Soon he would know for certain.

Still slowly encircling each other he let go of her hand and brought his hand back to gently cup her head, supporting her, bringing his lips down to hers until they were nearly touching. He angled his head slightly and kissed her lips askew. She lightly gasped at the new sensation, a strange need awoken within her, a hunger she had hitherto been completely unaware of. He took the opportunity and closed in on her mouth. She was letting him do as he wished but she was still passive. It was painfully obvious that she had never had a paramour of any kind at all and the idea suddenly made Jareth's ego swell with pride. She would never be subjected to the pathetic fumblings of inexperienced, green boys. She could be his and his alone if he set the bar impossibly high right now, groomed from day one to pleasure only him, sweet and lovely forever, the crowning jewel of his collection.

He was having to exercise an incredible amount of self-control, forcing himself to go very slowly so she could observe and learn. At last she managed to make the correct movements with her mouth, following him, and he drunk her in, artfully slipping in his tongue. Her eyelids slid closed in pleasure and her soft, muffled cry into his mouth was music to his ears. He began walking backward, leading her with him to the cushioned pit in the center of the room.

All the people in it practically leapt out of the way to make room for the king. His eyes were closed as well but he knew the dimensions of this room so well that he could've found his way in his sleep. He broke the kiss and took both of her hands in his to lead her down the stairs into the pit, his heated eyes never even blinking. Before she could fully process what was going on, she was seated beside him in a pool of silk cushions and he was kissing her senseless. Her arms had wrapped around him as if they had a mind of their own, drawing him closer, and he had reciprocated. She didn't remember him straddling her but when she opened her eyes as he broke away to trail hot kisses down her neck she saw that he had. She was beyond thinking; all there was was this sweet flood of sensation beyond anything she had ever experienced in her entire life. It felt like magic, that her body could feel this way.

To her surprise and complete shock he began edging down the shoulders of her gown, pulling down the front of her dress until she was nearly exposed - and suddenly stopped. Jareth had looked up to further intoxicate her by watching her reactions to what he was about to do to her and saw the drastic change in her expression. She was no longer a human female suffused with carnal passion. She looked suddenly very small and uncertain and even a little bit sad. She was scared. She should've been beyond being afraid of him at all and here she was, her eyes pleading him to stop. It cut him to the quick and for the very first time, the Goblin King faltered. He couldn't do it! She was still too much a child in spite of her rapidly blossoming form. And she was frightened of him. He knew that he could simply force her, that eventually after living with the others she would no longer think to care when she saw that nothing came of it, that she was in no true danger. But he knew that if he went through with it now the sight of her frightened face as he took her would haunt him for the rest of his life.

He had seduced many women in his day but they had all been willing, any protests instantly silenced with honeyed whispers and passionate kisses. Sarah was trembling. He sighed. It just wasn't worth it. He pulled the shoulders of the gown back up and lounged alongside her, holding her, rocking her gently, trying to comfort her. He knew he didn't have much time to decide what to do; he had an audience and they expected a show. He leaned over her and murmured in her ear,

"Only remember the pleasure, little one. Sweet dreams..."

And with that he kissed her right eye and she disappeared before them all. He sat up, looking slightly miffed.

"Damn, slipped," he muttered. The whole room was in shock. They had never seen him lose one before! Some of the women began to edge to the pit, trying to think how to console him best but Elizabeth seized the opportunity and ripped off her mask, hurriedly tousling her long red hair down. She climbed in from the side behind him, practically falling into his lap. He looked surprised but intrigued.

"Do me again!" she entreated. "Surely you remember," she crooned, tracing the line of his jaw with her index finger. He smirked.

"How could I forget?"

After all, he thought, 32 was an excellent number, easy to control, easy to care for. At least that's what he told himself as he greedily plundered her yielding mouth, his hands racing inside her dress.

Sarah woke up in her own bed the next day feeling unusually refreshed. She went to turn over and, to her surprise, she was still clothed from the night before! 'How odd,' she thought, 'I must've passed out and Dad just tucked me in.' The thought warmed her: in spite of the theatrics and the ignoring he did in front of her stepmother, he still really cared.

But there was more than that; she'd had the most amazing dream. Bits of it were starting to come back to her but the whole thing refused to surface in entirety. There had been a luxurious ball and she had worn white, the stranger in the room. She must've been Cinderella! She knew she had danced with the guy who was supposed to be the prince but for the life of her she couldn't remember what he looked like, it was infuriating. Many other parts of the dream were a blur, too; she must've been in the wrong part of her sleep cycle to really remember it all. But it still didn't explain this delicious, happy afterglow she was feeling. And then it suddenly dawned on her.

Her eyes went wide as her hand flew over her mouth and she made a tiny squeal of delight before burying her face in her pillow, giggling as she turned bright red. He had kissed her! He had kissed her and kissed her and kissed her until she couldn't even think straight, until she couldn't think at all! He had devoured her mouth, her neck, all the way down to the front of the dress and back again. And the amazing part was that her body had actually responded as if it had been real! She reveled in the memory, feeling giddy. It was as if someone had flipped a switch inside her and her entire body had come to life. It felt wonderful, she almost didn't want to get up but it was a school day and she had to.

She reluctantly shoved off the covers and changed into her bathrobe. Today felt like a fresh start. Her stepmother had been telling her and telling her that she was growing up whether she liked it or not and for the very first time Sarah thought that she might like it after all.

Years later, after her father and stepmother had given up trying to have a baby and adopted instead and Sarah was married with a teenage daughter of her own, she found that she could still remember the parts of that dream as clearly as if it had just been last night. She was reminded again when Emily asked her who was the first boy she had ever kissed and she roughly told her the dream, smiling, secretly remembering that first magical spark of desire.

The End


End file.
